Georgian tennis player  Nikoloz Basilashvili was charged with physically assaulting his ex-wife.  Reports suggested that Basilashvili’s father has also been arrested related to the incident.  A court date has been set for July 16th.

Basilashvili was charged with committing “violence against a family member committed in the presence of a minor”.  He was released on bail amounting to $30,000 (27,500 euros).  He faces up to three years behind bars or 400 hours of community service if he is found guilty of the charges.

Basilashvili married his ex-wife Neka in 2013. The pair divorced in 2015 and have a five-year-old son Lucas.

Basilashvili is currently ranked 27th in the world.  He has won 3 ATP titles in his career and reached a career-high ranking of 16 in 2019. 

Basilashvili’s family released a statement denying the allegations.  The statement said, “We say with full responsibility that information about abuse isn’t true and there’s no evidence to support this fact”.

Basilashvili is the highest-ranked player in Georgia’s history.  The Georgian Tennis Federation released a statement that said, ” ‘First of all, we would like to state that Georgian Tennis Federation has always condemned any form of violence.”

‘The incident involving Nikoloz Basilashvili is currently under police investigation and GFT will refrain from either announcing its position on the matter or making any comments until such investigation is completed.’

The tennis season remains suspended due to Covid-19.  It is not clear when tournaments would resume.  But the lockdown in many countries has put a lot of stress on players.  A few ATP players such as Nick Kyrgios and Alexander Zverev have broken up with their girlfriends.